Here’s an economic development idea: Fill up some of our empty space with a rock climbing wall and an indoor paintball arena.
Sisters could use a few more attractions like that — the kind that would draw both locals and visitors without a lot of negative impact. Maybe a public-private partnership between some entrepreneur and the Sisters Park & Rec District?
No, these faqcilities don’t promote family wage jobs. But maybe there’s a knock-on effect; just a few more amenities that make Sisters a destination for fine, healthy fun might make a difference in attracting that small manufacturing firm.
It’s just a notion, but hey, wouldn’t it be fun on a cold winter night to go out and climb a rock wall or blast away with your friends?
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
It’s no sin to make a buck
There was an interesting piece in the news recently about a guy who ran a for-profit outfit that staged charity events. His company raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charities — and the company profited handsomely.
Win-win, right? Nope. In the minds of purists, the entrepreneur was “profiteering” and he was ultimately chased off.
The charities subsequently took on their own fund-raising — and the totals plunged. Brilliant.
We should take care that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot in the same way in Sisters. You often hear rhetoric that portrays anybody in the development business as “greedy,” just out to make a buck. Well, that’s no sin. Too many people resent everybody else’s money but their own (which is, of course, well-earned).
We need a lot of work in our forests, and somebody’s gonna have to make a buck to make it happen. It’s okay to cut down trees for profit. It really is. It is possible for forest health and economic health to be compatible.
Destination resorts are a hot-button topic around here. But each should be individually evaluated on its merits and impacts, not on the fact that somebody is going to make a lot of money.
Some resorts may have a negative impact, some may be positive, some may be pretty much neutral. We should weigh impacts on resources and traffic and on neighborhoods along with potential economic and resource benefits without getting all stirred up about the “greed” of developers.
Sure, there are greedy people out there. Others may have visions that are too grandiose for Sisters. We must be vigilant and rigorous in applying standards, whether it’s logging protocols or development guidelines. But those who are willing to invest in Sisters on the prospect of adding value to the community and making a profit for themselves should be applauded, not demonized.
Jim Cornelius
Win-win, right? Nope. In the minds of purists, the entrepreneur was “profiteering” and he was ultimately chased off.
The charities subsequently took on their own fund-raising — and the totals plunged. Brilliant.
We should take care that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot in the same way in Sisters. You often hear rhetoric that portrays anybody in the development business as “greedy,” just out to make a buck. Well, that’s no sin. Too many people resent everybody else’s money but their own (which is, of course, well-earned).
We need a lot of work in our forests, and somebody’s gonna have to make a buck to make it happen. It’s okay to cut down trees for profit. It really is. It is possible for forest health and economic health to be compatible.
Destination resorts are a hot-button topic around here. But each should be individually evaluated on its merits and impacts, not on the fact that somebody is going to make a lot of money.
Some resorts may have a negative impact, some may be positive, some may be pretty much neutral. We should weigh impacts on resources and traffic and on neighborhoods along with potential economic and resource benefits without getting all stirred up about the “greed” of developers.
Sure, there are greedy people out there. Others may have visions that are too grandiose for Sisters. We must be vigilant and rigorous in applying standards, whether it’s logging protocols or development guidelines. But those who are willing to invest in Sisters on the prospect of adding value to the community and making a profit for themselves should be applauded, not demonized.
Jim Cornelius
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Merry Christmas out there
Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) to all of you out in the blogosphere.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The shoes hurled round the world
George W. Bush greatly — and typically — “misunderestimates” the depth of contempt and hatred he has stirred in the Arab world.
When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the lame duck president, Bush dismissed the gesture as a way to get attention.
Typical smirking smugness.
In Iraqi culture, throwing your shoes at someone is the gravest form of insult. It’s like spitting in the president’s face, only moreso. The fact that Bush doesn’t get that speaks volumes.
Bush never understood what he was getting us into in Iraq and he still doesn’t. He will go to his grave unreflective and unenlightened.
The Arabs as a culture have a long memory. It will take decades to overcome the damage this president has done. Let us hope that never again will we be led into the mire by a president who considers stubborn, arrogant ignorance a virtue.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
P.S. You do have to hand it to Bush, though. His reactions were good. And I thought that Bill Clinton was the guy used to ducking things thrown at his head.
When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the lame duck president, Bush dismissed the gesture as a way to get attention.
Typical smirking smugness.
In Iraqi culture, throwing your shoes at someone is the gravest form of insult. It’s like spitting in the president’s face, only moreso. The fact that Bush doesn’t get that speaks volumes.
Bush never understood what he was getting us into in Iraq and he still doesn’t. He will go to his grave unreflective and unenlightened.
The Arabs as a culture have a long memory. It will take decades to overcome the damage this president has done. Let us hope that never again will we be led into the mire by a president who considers stubborn, arrogant ignorance a virtue.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
P.S. You do have to hand it to Bush, though. His reactions were good. And I thought that Bill Clinton was the guy used to ducking things thrown at his head.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
‘Pristine’ is a dirty word
I was talking with a friend recently about the state of our forests and it occurred to me that one word is a symptom (and maybe a cause) of a lot of wrongheaded thinking.
That word is “pristine.”
You hear it a lot in reference to the Sisters Country, often in commentary from “Environmentalists” opposing cutting trees or developing some part of the forest.
Especially if there’s the possibility of making a dollar involved. Dirty money versus “pristine” forests.
There’s nothing pristine about the forests of the Sisters Country. They’ve been meddled with for over a century, with logging, fire suppression, road-building, riding, hiking, pot growing — virtually every kind of human activity.
Pretending that the forests are “pristine” only makes it more difficult to enact the kind of human intervention that is needed now to restore the health of those forests.
The forests need massive intervention. Thinning, burning, cleanup — aggressive management, this time focused on forest health as the top priority.
And somebody has to make money somehow so that the work can be sustained over the long haul.
The old paradigm of conflict between “lock it up” and “get the cut out” is no longer valid. We need new paradigms. First, we have to retire the word “pristine.” Pristine ended long ago. Human industrial civilization is here in force; the choice is whether our impact is negative or positive.
I care a lot more about whether the forest is healthy than if it is “pristine.” And healthy is going to take a lot of work.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
That word is “pristine.”
You hear it a lot in reference to the Sisters Country, often in commentary from “Environmentalists” opposing cutting trees or developing some part of the forest.
Especially if there’s the possibility of making a dollar involved. Dirty money versus “pristine” forests.
There’s nothing pristine about the forests of the Sisters Country. They’ve been meddled with for over a century, with logging, fire suppression, road-building, riding, hiking, pot growing — virtually every kind of human activity.
Pretending that the forests are “pristine” only makes it more difficult to enact the kind of human intervention that is needed now to restore the health of those forests.
The forests need massive intervention. Thinning, burning, cleanup — aggressive management, this time focused on forest health as the top priority.
And somebody has to make money somehow so that the work can be sustained over the long haul.
The old paradigm of conflict between “lock it up” and “get the cut out” is no longer valid. We need new paradigms. First, we have to retire the word “pristine.” Pristine ended long ago. Human industrial civilization is here in force; the choice is whether our impact is negative or positive.
I care a lot more about whether the forest is healthy than if it is “pristine.” And healthy is going to take a lot of work.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Looks like Bi-Mart’s on its way
Unless something untoward happens, it looks like Sisters will have a Bi-Mart store in a few months.
The company filed an application for a minor modification on the former Ray’s site last week (see this week’s Nugget page 1 or www.nuggetnews.com).
It’s going to be interesting to see what the reaction is. Bi-Mart is a chain and some folks really don’t like the idea of chain stores in Sisters. Of course, Ray’s is a chain, too, and nobody seems to mind having a supermarket...
I think that Bi-Mart is the best thing that could happen at ThreeWind Shopping Center. It’s a Northwest company, employee-owned and a contributor to its communities. It carries goods that we’d otherwise be going to Bend for.
It’ll compete with some of our existing stores, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though the thought of going up against a big player surely makes some folks in town nervous. Competition usually makes everyone better.
The worst thing that could happen out there is blight — a dead or dying shopping center right along Highway 20 wouldn’t do anybody a lick of good.
A solid store with an updated and improved Western facade will look good, stimulate business for Radio Shack and Coyote Creek and fill a need in Sisters. Sounds good to me.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
The company filed an application for a minor modification on the former Ray’s site last week (see this week’s Nugget page 1 or www.nuggetnews.com).
It’s going to be interesting to see what the reaction is. Bi-Mart is a chain and some folks really don’t like the idea of chain stores in Sisters. Of course, Ray’s is a chain, too, and nobody seems to mind having a supermarket...
I think that Bi-Mart is the best thing that could happen at ThreeWind Shopping Center. It’s a Northwest company, employee-owned and a contributor to its communities. It carries goods that we’d otherwise be going to Bend for.
It’ll compete with some of our existing stores, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though the thought of going up against a big player surely makes some folks in town nervous. Competition usually makes everyone better.
The worst thing that could happen out there is blight — a dead or dying shopping center right along Highway 20 wouldn’t do anybody a lick of good.
A solid store with an updated and improved Western facade will look good, stimulate business for Radio Shack and Coyote Creek and fill a need in Sisters. Sounds good to me.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The forest needs fire
The Forest Service blew it and they know it.
Failure to discuss mop up in detail, lack of clarity about who was responsible for what, maybe a little complacency, led to an escape of a prescribed burn in the Metolius Natural Research Unit this fall. The Wizard Fire ended up covering 1,840 acres and costing $4 million.
That’s a big mistake.
But this mistake can’t be allowed to send a valuable program up in smoke. We need prescribed fire in Sisters’ forests. Prescribed fire has protected local communities from destruction by wildfire. The GW Fire west of Black Butte Ranch hit a treated area and dropped down like it had been hit by a left hook. The evidence is clear on the ground.
Beyond the safety considerations, fire is a necessary natural element of the health of our forests. The more we mimic natural fire patterns, the healthier our forests will be.
Hike through any area of Sisters’ forests and you’ll find acres of land choked with vast stands of small, unhealthy trees. Those acres won’t be healthy until they burn.
Sure, you can cut trees and mow underbrush, but that’s not efficient and it’s not natural. Fire is nature’s tool and it must be ours.
Nobody likes dealing with the smoke and brown needles and blackened trunks don’t look like the picturesque forests we tout to visitors. But they’re worth putting up with for the benefits, which aren’t so long in coming.
There’s no excuse for lapses in patrols on a burn and the Wizard Fire is a violation of public trust the Sisters Ranger District has worked hard for the past decade to earn. They must do better and they owe it to us to demonstrate that they will do better.
But we need to give them the chance. Our forests need the fire.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Failure to discuss mop up in detail, lack of clarity about who was responsible for what, maybe a little complacency, led to an escape of a prescribed burn in the Metolius Natural Research Unit this fall. The Wizard Fire ended up covering 1,840 acres and costing $4 million.
That’s a big mistake.
But this mistake can’t be allowed to send a valuable program up in smoke. We need prescribed fire in Sisters’ forests. Prescribed fire has protected local communities from destruction by wildfire. The GW Fire west of Black Butte Ranch hit a treated area and dropped down like it had been hit by a left hook. The evidence is clear on the ground.
Beyond the safety considerations, fire is a necessary natural element of the health of our forests. The more we mimic natural fire patterns, the healthier our forests will be.
Hike through any area of Sisters’ forests and you’ll find acres of land choked with vast stands of small, unhealthy trees. Those acres won’t be healthy until they burn.
Sure, you can cut trees and mow underbrush, but that’s not efficient and it’s not natural. Fire is nature’s tool and it must be ours.
Nobody likes dealing with the smoke and brown needles and blackened trunks don’t look like the picturesque forests we tout to visitors. But they’re worth putting up with for the benefits, which aren’t so long in coming.
There’s no excuse for lapses in patrols on a burn and the Wizard Fire is a violation of public trust the Sisters Ranger District has worked hard for the past decade to earn. They must do better and they owe it to us to demonstrate that they will do better.
But we need to give them the chance. Our forests need the fire.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Gun control means no Glock-in-the-Pants
So New York Giants football star Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg accidentally while fumbling for his Glock in a Manhattan nightclub. Seems he was carrying the .40 pistol in his waistband in what’s known as “Mexican Carry.” No holster.
The gun slid down his pant leg and he grabbed at it with his free hand (the other one had a drink in it).
The Glock has no “safety.” It has a little tongue in the trigger that serves as a kind of fire control device, but it’s a military/police pistol. It’s supposed to be carried in a holster and if it is properly handled it’s perfectly safe. (Still hate Glock’s but that’s another issue).
The gun ain’t idiot-proof, however, and Plaxico proved it.
New York has draconian handgun-possession laws and Plaxico is facing three to five in jail. Mayor Bloomberg wants maximum prosecution. He’d better get it. No special deals for superstar athletes.
Once again, we see the problem of guns in the hands of idiots. It’s not something we can solve, but I hate to see responsible firearms owners penalized with laws and ridiculous safety measures to make up for the Plaxico Burresses of the world.
Maybe we just have to hope for Darwinian action to take effect. Think about it. A little to the left and he wouldn’t reproduce.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
The gun slid down his pant leg and he grabbed at it with his free hand (the other one had a drink in it).
The Glock has no “safety.” It has a little tongue in the trigger that serves as a kind of fire control device, but it’s a military/police pistol. It’s supposed to be carried in a holster and if it is properly handled it’s perfectly safe. (Still hate Glock’s but that’s another issue).
The gun ain’t idiot-proof, however, and Plaxico proved it.
New York has draconian handgun-possession laws and Plaxico is facing three to five in jail. Mayor Bloomberg wants maximum prosecution. He’d better get it. No special deals for superstar athletes.
Once again, we see the problem of guns in the hands of idiots. It’s not something we can solve, but I hate to see responsible firearms owners penalized with laws and ridiculous safety measures to make up for the Plaxico Burresses of the world.
Maybe we just have to hope for Darwinian action to take effect. Think about it. A little to the left and he wouldn’t reproduce.
Jim Cornelius, Editor
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